Why would a box on a shelf have a higher potential energy than that of a box on a lower shelf?
A) The box on the higher shelf is heavier
B) The box on the lower shelf was placed there after the higher box.
C) The box on the higher shelf experiences less gravitational pull; with less gravitational pull comes more weight, thus more potential energy.
D) It took more work to move the box to the high shelf than to the low shelf

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Potential energy is related to the height of an object and the work done in lifting it to that height. Therefore, the answer is D as it took more work to move the box to the higher shelf, which means it has more potential energy.

Why Would a Box on a Shelf Have a Higher